Paper feeding device



Sept. 3, 1940. J. o. SIMPSON l-:T AL 2,23571 PAPER FEEDING' DEVICE FiledNOV. 5, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 POSITION I Sept. 3, 1940. J. o. sxMPsoN ETAL 2,213,571

PAPER FEEDING DEVI CE Filed NOV. 5, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet l5 Sept. 3,1940- J. o. SIMPSON erm'. 25213571 PAPER FEEDING DEVICE Filed NOV. 5,1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 PFC 48 ATTORNEY sept. 3, 1940.

J. O. SIMPSON .ET AL.

PAPER FEEDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 5, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Cil PatentedSept. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAPER FEEDHNG DEVICEApplication November 5, 1938, Serial No.' 239,016 In Great Britain`l'uly 8, i938 n crains. (ci. isi-ier) This invention relates tobackings for sheets for use in printing machines. When inserting thinpaper sheets in printing machines, difculty is found in registering theflimsy sheet relative to the printing elements of the machine, even whena guide for one of the margins of the sheet is provided. It is oneobject of this invention to provide a strong backing member for such asheet which facilitates the insertion of the sheet in'to the printingmachine.

More specically, it is an object of the invention to provide for usewith a thin paper sheet in a printing machine, a backing member or cardhaving tivo ears projecting from one of its margins and spaced apart bya distance equal to the width of the sheet with which it is to be used.The thin paper sheet is folded at one end over the said margin of thecard between the ears so as to be registered longitudinally of thebacking card and engages both ears with its opposite margins atv theends of the fold so as to be registered laterally on the backing. Itwill be Seen that the sheet is denitely registered on the backing cardboth longitudinally and laterally, so that correct insertion of thesheet is assured if the backing is correctly inserted. The backingmember, although it is iiexible, can be made sufficiently sti so that itmay be readily inserted with the aid of a guide such as is usuallyprovided in printing machines.

Another feature of the invention is concerned with backing cards forsheets for use in printing machines of the kind comprising long-feedmechanism operable to feed a sheet to an indenite extent, means forbringing said mechanism into action anda detecting member cooperatingwith a perforation or a cut-away portion in the card to interruptoperation of the long-feed mechanism when it detects the perforation oran edge oi the cut-away portion.

Itis frequently undesirable to mutilate` the sheets by perforating themor cutting away portions, and to avoid such mutilation the presentinvention pro-vides a backing card having means for registering a sheetrelatively to itself and a perforated or cut-away portion for actuatingthe detecting member of the machine.

In the U. S. application, Serial No. 202,220, filed April l5, 1938,based on British patent specication No. 11912/37, there is described amachine in which the detecting member traverses a marginal strip of thesheet, the leading edge of operation of the long-feed mechanism. If thelong-feed mechanism is called into action before the trailing margin ofthe sheet has passed the member, the member would be operative tointerrupt operation by the long-feed mechanism unless provision is madeto prevent this. This provision comprises a second detecting memberwhich traverses an unmutilated strip of the sheet and which isoperative, so long as it detects the sheet, to prevent the rst memberinterrupting operation by the long-feed mechanism, but which isoperative as soon as it detects absence of the sheet to permit the firstmember to interrupt operation by the long-feed mechanism.

With this arrangement the long-feed mechak nism is brought into actionwhen printing has been completed on one sheet and operates until thenext sheet .is inserted and has been fed forward suilciently to bringthe step under the rst detecting member, when the latter operates tointerrupt operation by the long-feed mechanism in such a way that therst line or" the sheet is at the printing line of the machine.

It. is frequently desirable to print a number of lines and then to spacethe sheet a number of lines and print a further line or lines. Thespacing of the sheet can conveniently be eiected by bringing thelong-feed mechanism into action When the last line of the first group isprinted and interrupting feed operation when the rst line of the nextgroup is in the printing position. l

In order to bring about such intermediate spacing operation, the presentinvention provides a backing card having means for registering aprint-receiving sheet relatively to itself and two cut-away portionsextending across the strip of the backing member traversed`by the rstdetecting member, one at the leading end of the strip and the second atan intermediate point in the said strip and having the second cut, butnot the first, extending across the strip of the backing membertraversed by the second detecting member. If more than one intermediatespacing operation is required there may be provided more than oneintermediate cut-away portion extending across both strips. The secondcut provides not only a second step in the first strip to operate therst detecting member, but also a gap in the second strip to cause thesecond detecting member to be operative to permit the first detectingmember to interrupt the long-feed operation when it detects the secondstep.

Further objects of the instant invention reside in any novel feature ofAconstruction or operation or novel combination of parts present in theembodiment of the invention described and shown in the accompanyinngdrawings whether within or without the scope of the appended claims andtrolled by the detecting levers.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation at the left hand end of the platen showingthe long feed mechanism and the line spacing mechanism for driving theplaten.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5 and shows the long feedmechanism in side elevation.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 'l- 1 of Fig. 5 and shows the linespacing mechanism in side elevation.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 5 and shows devices for ending along feed operation.

The backing member or card consists of a sheet 200 (Fig. 1) of stiifpaper or other suitable material having ears 20| projecting from itsupper margin. The distance between these ears is equal to the width of athin paper sheet 202 that is to be applied to the supporting card 200.The

top part 203 of the sheet (shown in dot and dash lines) is folded overagainst the back of the sheet, and the sheet is applied to the backingcard 200 with the part 203 lying behind the card and with the foldengaged against the top margin 204 of the card. It will be seen that thesheet is registered lengthwise on the card by the engagement of the topmargin 204 with the creased part of the fold in the sheet, and sidewaysby the ears 20| engaging the side margins of the sheet.

The illustrated backing card 200 is designed for a sheet on whichprinting can be effected on nine lines numbered 1 to 9 in'Fig. 1, anddivided into an upper group of eight lines and a lower single lineseparated from the group of lines by a space. This arrangement issuitable for preparing a dividend statement and warrant, and this modeof use will be described, the sheet being divided by a perforated line205 in the `usual manner.

The right-hand strip of the card 200 to the right of the dotted line 226will be referred to as the first strip, and the strip'between the dottedlines 206 and 20T as the second strip. The first strip is cut-away fromthe top down to a step or shoulder 208 level with line 1. It is also cutaway from a point 209 down to a shoulder 2l0 level with line 9. Thesecond strip is cut away below 209 to form a gap 2H. these cut-awayportions will be apparent from the following explanation of thesheet-feeding mechanism and how it feeds the sheets.

The sheet-feeding mechanism is the same as that described in U. S,application, Serial No. 202,220, and will only be described sucientlyfor an understanding of how it controls movement of the card 200 andsheet 282. The card and sheet are placed face downwards (Fig. 3) on atray H0 with the right-hand margin of the card against a .guide (notshown) and are slid down the tray until their leading upper mar- 'Ihefunction of,

gin enters between a rotating platen H3 and a pressure roller H4. Theplaten is driven by long-feed mechanism which is brought into action bythe previous energization of a magnet PFC (Fig. 4) in a manner describedhereinafter. The magnet PFC engages a clutch to connect the platen to aconstantly rotating shaft. To disengage this clutch, a magnet LFC (Fig.4) is energized and engages a second clutch through which a cam isdriven for a single revolution only. This cam disengages the firstclutch when it has nearly completed its revolution and thus the platenis brought to rest after turning through a predetermined angle from theposition it occupied when the magnet LFC was energized.

As the card 200 is moved towards the platen l i3 (Fig. 3) it engages androcks a detecting lever l l1 about its pivot I l 8 to close contacts PL.The lever Il'l traverses the second strip on the card between the lines206 and 201 (Fig. 1). After the leading margin of the sheet and card isbetween the platen H3 and theroller H4, a lever H5 is engaged by thefeed control indice or step 208 on the card and rocked about its pivotH6 to close contacts LF. It is essential that these contacts do notclose. before the leading margin of the sheet and card have been grippedby the platen and roller and, therefore, the dimension A (Fig. 1) of thecard must not be less than the distance between the left-hand end of thelever H5 and the bight between the platen and roller.

Before the sheet and card were inserted, the contacts PL (Fig. 4) wereopen so that a relay coil LFRI was de-energized and its contacts LFRI--Bwere closed. A relay coil LFR2 was thus energized through these contactsand cam contacts CI. The coil LFRZ closes its contacts LFR2-A. Relaycoils LFR3 and LFRIU are also energized at this time in a mannerexplained later. Contacts LFR3--A are thus closed. Thus, when thecontacts LF are closed, the magnet LFC is energized through the contactsLF, LFR2-A, LFR3-A and CI. The magnet LFC then clutches up the campreviously referred to and this cam interrupts the operation of thelongfeed mechanism when the sheet has reached position II of Fig. 2. Thecontacts Cl are opened by a cam which is also brought into action by themagnet LFC so that the relays LFRZ, LFR3 and LFRlll are de-energized.Previous to this, the contacts PL closed to energize the coil LFRI whichopened its contacts LFRl-B The coil LFR2 is, however, held energized bythe associated holding contacts LFRZ--B until the contacts CI open.

The machine is driven by a tabulating motor, not shown, and includes ashaft 20 (Fig. 5) which is driven continuously. This shaft 20, throughgear-wheels 2l, drives a drive shaft 22 of the long-feed mechanism. Adriving gear-wheel 23 (Figs. 5 and 6) is rotatable on the shaft 22 andcan be connected to it by a coupling constituted by an epicyclic gear.rIhis epicyclic gear comprises a sun-wheel 2li which is secured to thedrive shaft 22 and a sun-wheel 25 which is rotatable on the shaft 22 andis secured to a ratchet-wheel 26 by a sleeve 27, A disc 28 is rotatableon the sleeve 2 and is secured to the gear-wheel 23 by spindles 29, theassembly comprising the gear-wheel 23, the disc 28, and the spindles 29constituting a planet carrier. Compound planetwheels S0 are rotatable onthe spindles 29 and mesh with the sun-wheels 243 and 25. A stop pawl 2l(Fig. 6) is secured on a rockable spindle 32 and is normally latchedaway from the ratchet-wheel 26 by a projection 33 on the armature 34 ofa feed coupling magnet PFC. Thus, the ratchet-wheel 25 and the sun-wheel25 are normally free to rotate and no torque can be transmitted throughthe epicyclic gearing to the driving wheel 23. When the magnet PFC isenergized, it releases the pawl 3| and the stop pawl is moved by aspring 35 (Fig. 8) to engage and arrest the ratchet-wheel 26 and thesun-wheel 25. The driving Wheel 23 is then connected to the drive shaft22 through the sun-wheel 24 and the planet-wheels 30. The spring 35 isconnected to an arm 36 (Fig. 8) which is secured on the spindle 32 sothat the arm 36 and stop pawl 3| rock together.

The arm 36 carries a roller 31 engaging a cam 38 having a single rise38a (Fig. 8). The cam 38 is rotatable on the drive shaft 22 and issecured to a gear-Wheel 39 which may be coupled to the drive shaft 22 bya clutch of the roller type. AThis clutch comprises a cam plate 40 (Fig.8) which is secured to the gear-wheel 39 and a drum 4| which is securedto the shaft 22. As shown in Fig. 8 the cam plate 40 has a series offlats which provide, with the inner surface of the drum 4|, a series oftapering spaces. A roller 42 is mounted in each of these spaces andthese rollers are rotatably carried by a roller plate 43 which ismounted on the hub of the gear-wheel 39 so that it can rock relativelyto the gear- Wheel. A spring 44 biases the roller plate 43 to movecounter-clockwise (Fig. 8) relatively to the cam plate 40 so as to movethe rollers into the narrow portions of the spaces where they wedge thecam plate 40 and the drum 4| together to ltransmit the drive from theshaft 22 to the gear- Wheel 39.

The gear-wheel 39 meshes with a gear-wheel 45 which is secured onv ashaft 46. A disc 41 (Fig. 6) is also secured on the shaft 46 and isformed with a notch 41a which is normally engaged by the nose of aspring-biased pawl 48. The pawl 48 is pivoted at 49 on a frame of themachine and serves to hold the shaft 46, and therefore the gear-wheels45 and 39, in a denite position. Consequently', the cam plate 46 isnormally held in the position shown in Fig. 8. The roller plate 43 isprovided with a projection 43a (Fig. 8) which normally engages the nose49a of a lever 49 which is pivoted at 50. The roller plate is thus heldby the lever 49 in such a position that the rollers 42 are in the widestpart of the spaces between the cam plate 40 and the drum 4|. Thus.normally no drive is transmitted through this roller clutch. Aspring-pressed dog 56a is pivoted at on the lever 49 and snaps behindthe projection 43a so that the roller disc 43 is positively held againstmovementin both directions. The lever 49 carries an armature 52 of alinefinding clutch magnet LFC. Whenthe magnet LFC is energized, it rocksthe lever 49 clockwise so that the nose 49a moves clear of the lug 43aand the roller disc 43 is released. The spring 44 then rocks the rollerdisc 43 relatively to the cam disc 40 to engage the roller clutch asdescribed above. The cam 38 then turns through one revolution at the endof which the roller disc 43 is again held by the nose 49a engaging theprojection 43a, the magnet LFC having been deenergized. A spring 53biases the lever 49 to rock counter-clockwise. its normal position, thecam rise 38a engages the roller 31 and rocks the lever 36 and thespindle 32. Consequently, the stop pawl 3| (Fig. 6),

As the cam 38 nears which is secured on the spindle 32, is rockedcounter-clockwise away from the ratchet wheel 26 and is re-latched bythe projection 33 on the armature 34. The drive from the drive shaft 22to the driving gear 23 is thus interrupted.

It will be noted that the energization of the magnet LFC results in thedrive to the driving gear 23 being interrupted, but this interruptionoccurs a short time after the magnet was energized, and during this timethe driving gear 2 3 turns through a constant angle which'is nearly onerevolution. The reason for this will be explained later.

A key lever 54 is pivoted on the shaft 32 and is held upwardly by aspring 55 against a suitable stop (not shown). The lever 54 has a lug 56which extends under the arm 36. The longfeeding operation can be stoppedat any time by depressing on the end of the lever 54 so as to rock thelever and move the lug 56 upwardly. This rocks the arm 36 andthe'connected pawl 3| upwardly to interrupt a long-feeding operation inthe manner previously described.

The gear-wheel 45 carries a cam 58 which operates a pair of contacts C|shown in the circuit diagram. The function of these contacts will beexplained later, but it will be observed that the cam 58 only rotateswhile the roller clutch is engaged. I

The driving gear-wheel 23 drives a gear-wheel 59 (Figs. 5 and 6), whichis rotatable on the shaft 46 and which in turn drives a gear-wheel 60.The gear-wheel 66 drives a gear-wheel 6|, which is secured to agear-wheel 62. The gearwheel 62 drives a driving gear-Wheel 63 which issecured on a driving shaft 64. In order to allow for variation in thegear ratio between the shaft 22 and 64, the gear-wheels 6| and 62 aremounted in a slot in an arm 65 which is pivoted on the shaft 64. Thegear-wheels 6| and 62 can thus be removed and replaced by others ofdiierent diameter. The gear-wheel 68 is carried by lan arm 66 which ispivoted on the shaft 48 so that its center can be adjusted to suit thegear-wheels 6| and 62 employed. In this manner the amount of movementimparted to the shaft 64 between the energization of the magnet LFC(Fig. 8) and the actual interruption of the long-feeding operation canbe adjusted. The gear-wheel 63 is prevented from axial movement to theleft (Fig. 5) by the hub of the arm 65, which, in turn, is held againstmovement to the left by a xed frame 61. A friction disc 68 is pressedagainst the right-hand face (Fig. 5) of the gear-wheel 63 by a spring 69which is compressed between the disc 68 and a fixed frame member 10. Twopins 1| are secured to the frame member 16 and t into holes in the disc68 so as to hold the disc 68 against rotation. This disc 68 thus acts asa brake on rotation of the gear-wheel 63 so that this gear-wheel and theshaft 64 will be brought rapidly to rest as soon as the drive to them isinterrupted. The brake also serves to hold the shaft 64 stationaryduring line-spacing operations.

A disc 12 is rotatably secured on the righthand end of the shaft 64 andis connected by two spindles 13 to a second disc 14 which is rotatableon the platen shaft 15. The assembly 12, 13, 14 constitutes the planetcarrier of the second epicyclic gear, and compound planet-wheels 16 arerotatable on the spindles 13. The planet-wheels 16 mesh with a sun-wheel11 secured to the sha it 64 and a sun-wheel 18 secured to the platenshaft 15. The disc 12 is secured to a ratchet-wheel 19 (Fig..7) which isheld vagainst rotation in a counter-clockwise direction by aline-spacing pawl` 80. The shaft 64 is always driven clockwise and tendsto rotate the shaft 15 clockwise and the planet carrier and the ratchetwheel 19 counter-clockwise. Since the ratchet-wheel 19 cannot turncounter-clockwise, the platen shaft 15 will be rotated clockwise at arelatively high speed. The platen is secured on the shaft and serves tofeed the ledger sheet until the first blank line is at printing positionand also to eject the ledger sheet.

It will be seen from the foregoing that a. longfeed operation can beinitiated by energizing the magnet PFC and the platen will continue toturn until the magnet LFC is energized. The platen will turn to apredetermined extent after the magnet IFC has been energized and willthen come to rest.

The line-spacing mechanism is shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 and operates asfollows:

The shaft 20 carries a gear-wheel 8| which, through an idler wheel 82drives a gear-wheel 83. A three-lobe cam 84 is secured to the gear-wheel83 and thus rotates continuously von a stub shaft v85. An arm 86 ispivoted at 81 and is rocked three times in each cycle by the cam 84. Abellcrank lever 88 is secured to the arm 86 by a bridging piece 89 sothat the horizontal arm of the lever 88 is moved down and then up threetimes in each cycle. A spring 90 causes the arm 86 to follow the contourof the cam 84, and the extent to which the assembly 86, 88 rocksclockwise can be adjusted by means of a screw-9| screwed into thebridging piece 89 and engaging a stop 92. A i

The pawl 80 is pivoted on the end of an arm 93 and is spring-biasedtowards the ratchetwheel 19. The arm 93 has a pin 94 engaging a slot inan arm 95 which is pivoted at 96. A link 91 is pivoted to the arm 95 at98. The link 91 has a hook 99 adapted to be engaged by a hook |00 on thebell-crank lever 88 wherithe link 91 is moved to the right from theposition shown in Fig. '7.` A spring |0| normally holds the link 91 inthe position shown so that the bell-crank lever 88 can rock idly.

A pair of levers |02 are pivoted at |03 and are connected together by arod |04 and an armature |05. The link 91 bears against the rod |04 sothat the spring |0| normally holds the levers |02 in the position shown,with the armature |05 engaging an adjustable stop |06. When a linespacemagnet SM is energized, it attracts its armature |05 and rocks thelevers |02 about their pivot |03. The rod |04 moves to the right (Fig.7) so as to move the link 91 to the right with its hook 99 under thehook |00. At this time the bell-crank 88 is rocking counter-clockwise sothat it will depress the link 91 to rock the arm 95 counter-clockwiseand the arm 93 clockwise. The pawl will thus feed the ratchet-wheel 19through a tooth space. is thus turned clockwise and turns the planetcarrier 12, 13, 14 clockwise also. The sun-wheel 11 is stationary atthis time so that the compound gear-wheels 16 will roll over it androtate about their own axes. Owing to the fact Vthat the larger wheel ineach compound gear meshes with the smaller sun-wheel 11, the extent ofmovement which is correct for true rolling movement between the largerwheelv 16 and the sun-wheel 11 is too great for true rolling movementbetween the smaller wheel 16 and the sun-wheel 18. The

The ratchet-wheel 19 sun-wheel 18 will therefore be turned clockwise torotate the platen one line-space.

A justifying lever |01 is pivoted at |08 and has a pin |09 which restsin the space between the teeth of the ratchet-Wheel 19. The function ofthis lever is to ensure that lthe ratchet-wheel comes to rest in one ofa number of denite positions. It also serves to prevent backwardsmovement of the ratchet-wheel 19 during long-feed operations. It will beseen that the arrangement avoids any risk of the platen coming to restafter a long-feed operation with the ratchet-wheel in such a positionthat the justifying pin rests on top of one of its teeth as might be thecase if the ratchet-wheel and the platen were secured together as is theusual practice. Consequently, there is no risk of the platen beingturned half a line space or one and a half line spaces in theline-spacing operation that follows a long-feed operation.

The present construction will be described as applied to a record cardcontrolled machine of the kind shown in U. S'. patent application,Serial No. 731,459, filed June 20, 1934, and British patent specicationNo. 422,135, known commercially as the Hollerith rolling totaltabulator. The relay LFRI prevents record card feeding operations takingplace when it is de-energized.

The relays LFR3 and LFR|0 prevent Vrecord and card feeding operationstaking place when they are energized. After the contacts CI open. therelays LFR3 and LFRID will be de-energized and the relay LFRI will beenergized, the contacts PL then being closed. Printing will then Itakeplacev on successive lines'until the last perforated record card of agroup has been read and a group change occurs. A` number of totallingcycles then take place.

When preparing a dividend warrant relating both to preferred and commonshares, the number of shares and gross preferred dividend will beprinted on the first line and the number of shares and gross commondividend on the secondvline. Each line `of printing will -be effectedunder control of a separate record card and the gross dividend will beentered into one accumulator from these cards.l The income taxdeductions will be entered into a second accumulator from the samecards. A minor -group change will then occur, as explained later, andfive totalling cycles will be initiated. During the five ytotallingcycles the machines will perform the following opera-- in the priorspecification aforesaid.

A third card is provided for each shareholder.

The first two cards are punched zero in a par` ticular column while thethird card is punched one in the same column. The machine is adjusted ina known manner for minor control on this column. Thus a minor groupchange occurs between the second and third cards and the five totallingcycles aforesaid are initiated. A minor group change results in a minorcontrol relay being energized. .This relay then shifts its contactsMIR-A (Fig. 4). In the last of the totalling cycles contacts CI -Aclose. A circuit can then be completed through the relay coils LFRH) andLFR3, cam contacts PIO, the contacts Cl-A and MIR-A and contacts R2-Cwhich are closed at this time. The relay coils operate to prevent theusual automatic restart of record card feeding. The coil LFR3 alsocloses its contacts LFR3-C'to provide a holding circuit for itself andthe coil LFRIU. 'Ihe cam contacts PH) shift to provide a circuitincluding the magnet PFC and the contacts PH), LFRB-C and Cl. Thelong-feed mechanism then comes into action to feed the sheet fromposition III of Figure 2.

'I'he mechanism is designed to operate in cases where the last total isprinted a` considerable distance from the bottom of a sheet, so that thelever H5 will be resting on the sheet and holding the contacts LFclosed. Thus, the closure of the contacts LFRS-A during the lasttotalling cycle would energize the magnet LFC were it not for thecontacts LFR2-A'. Usually these contacts only close after the lower edgeof the sheet has passed the lever H5 and permitted the contacts LF to beopened. This results from the fact that the contacts PL open after thecontacts LF, owing to the relative positions of the respective levers H1and H5. The contacts PL open to de-energize the coil LFRI Whose contactsLFRI-B close to energize the coil LFB-2. This coil then closes thecontacts LFR2-A and also holds itself energized through the contactsLFRZ-B.

It will be seen that kthe lever H5 operates, when it detects the sheet,to interrupt a longfeed operation, While the lever Il'l operates, solong as it detects the sheet, to prevent a longfeed operation beinginterrupted. In the present instance a long-feed operation is initiatedwhen the sheet and backing are in position III of Fig. 2 and the leverH5 must operate when it engages' the feed control indice or step 2H) inthe backing card 200 (position IV of Fig. 2). to interrupt the long-feedoperation. The feed control notch or gap 2H in the backing card permitsthe lever Ill to rock when the backing moves from position III toposition IV (Fig. 2). The contacts PL thus open and theiropening resultsin the contacts LFR2A being closed as just explained. When the backingmember reaches position IV of Fig. 2, the lever H5 is 4rocked to closethe contacts LF and the longfeed operation is interrupted when the sheetreaches position V of Fig. 2.

The length C of the gap 2l l' in the backing card 200 must besuiiiciently long to permit contacts PL to be closed to energize therelay LFRI. It is found that 9A. is a suitable length for the gap 2l l.The dimension D should be sufficient to allow the contacts LFRZ-A to -beclosed before the step 2H) reaches the lever H5.

'I'he ninth and last line of the sheet is thus brought to the printingline and record card feeding is resumed to feed the third data cardrelating to the shareholder in question. The machine is operatedforfmajor group control on shareholder numbers punched in each card sothat a major group change will occur between the third record cardrelating to one shareholder and the first record card relating toI thenext shareholder. The machine is adjusted so that two totalling cyclesoccur on a major group change. In the rst of these cycles, the netdivided is printed on line 9, while in the second, the two accumulatorsare reset. The major group change results in a major control relay beingenergized and this relay shifts its contacts MaR (Fig. 4). During thesecond of the two totalling cycles, a circuit is completed with thecontacts MaR, CI-A and PIU to energize the coils LFRS and I LFRIU, and along-feed operation is initiated'in the manner previously described. Thesheet 292 and backing 290 are then fed out. Record card feeding isprevented as before, until a new sheet has been inserted and its firstline has been brought to the printing line. Y

The dimension E (Fig. 1) must be greater than the distance between theprinting line and the end of the lever H1 in order that the contacts PLmay be held closed when the sheet is inV position V of Fig. 2. If thesecontacts open before line 9 of the sheet reaches the printing line,

they would de-energize the relay LFRI which would prevent further datacard feeding operations so that the third record card would not be fedand the machine would operate idly. The

, dimension B should be equal to the dimension E to allow amounts from arecord card to be printed on the line 8 of the sheet.

It is desirable to suppress the usual spacing operation when printingthe total on line 9. Line spacing is effected by a magnet SM by circuitswhich include plug wiring sockets 220 and 22l. These sockets can beplugged to a pair of contacts which close in the particular totallingcycle in which printing is required. Contacts CZ-A close in thepenultimate cycle of each group of totalling cycles and these contactsare plugged to the sockets 220 and 22! through contacts MiR-B whichclose on a minor group change, but not on a major group change. Thus thesheet will spaced in the last but one of the five cycles resulting froma minor group change, but not on the first of the two cycles resultingfroma major group change.

A switch CMI is opened to render a cutting magnet CM inoperative. Thismagnet normally operates means for cutting a piece out of the recordsheet for each printing operation so that a step in the sheet(corresponding to the step 208 in Fig. 1) moves down the sheet as thelines are filled. This mechanism is put out of action because it is notrequired to lower the step 208 of the backing member as successivelinesare printed. Certain contacts shown in Fig. 4 have Anot been referred toherein since the functions right-hand margin and then be used merely forfacilitating the insertion of iiim'sy sheets into any kind of printingor sheet handling mechanism. The backing member is made of suicientstiffness so that it may be easily inserted into the machine in properalignment with the printing elements of the machine and, since the papersheet will be accurately registered on the backing, it will also be inproper alignment with the printing elements of the machine.` If themachine is provided with a marginal guide, it is of no practical use inaligning the flimsy sheet with respect to the printing elements of themachine, since the sheet alone has not sucient stiffness. When, however,the sheet is mounted on the backing member shown in Fig. l, one marginof the backing can be brought against the guide which can thus be usedto align both the backing and the sheet with respect to the printingelements of the machine.

It vmay be noted that folded over portion 203 of the record sheet 202can be of any differential length, and when creased at the proper pointbring any line on the sheet to coincide with the initial printingposition on the backing member. Such different placement of a sheet onthe backing is useful inledger posting work where the ledger sheet isreinserted differentially to receive initial printing impressionsdirectly under previously recorded impressions.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, itwill be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changesin the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operationmay be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit of the invention. It is the intention therefore to be limitedonly as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A holder for paper sheets comprising a planar, imperforate and stiifbacking card having two ears projecting from one of its margins, andadapted to carry one of said paper sheets folded at one end over saidmargin of the card between the ears so as to be registeredlongitudinally on the card and engaging both ears with the oppositemargins of the sheet so as to be registered laterally on the card, saidcard also having feed control extensions extending from one of themargms.

2. In a machine with devices for printing on record sheets, backingcards adapted to carry said sheets, each card having feed controlprojections and other projections for' confining a sheet thereon, meansunder control of said feed control projections lfor automaticallyinserting and feeding said card to position the card and sheet toreceive print at certain preselected points thereon, said sheet beingfolded at one end over the backing card to assume a print receivingposition thereon, the size of said fold determining the line of thesheet on which printing is started.

3. In a machine with devices for feeding and printing items of data onreinserted ledger sheets, backing members adapted to carry said sheets',each member having means for holding a sheet thereon, and other meansfor controlling the feeding thereof, means for automatically insertingand feeding said member, means under control of the feeding controlmeans of lthe member for 'controlling the operation of the automaticinserting means so that said member and assembled sheet are fed apredetermined extent and placed in position to start or resume printingof items, said sheet being folded over one end of the member to assume aprint receiving position relative thereto, the length of said fold beingdetermined by the number of items already printed on said sheet and so,proportioned that printing is resumed directly under previously printeditems or on the first line.

4. In a machine for printing on record sheets, a iiat backing cardformed with a recess adapted to carry one of said record sheets, saidcard being provided with feed control indicia, and means for controllingthe positioning of said card and record sheet under control of saidindicia of the card.

5. In a machine with devices for printing and feeding ledger recordsheets, a backing card adapted to carry an unmutilated record sheet,said card being provided with feed control indicia, means for detectingsaid indicia and means under control of said detecting means forcontrolling operation of said feeding devices to position said card andsheet so that the printing is received at various positions thereon.

6. In a machine with devices for printing and feeding ledger recordsheets, a backing card adapted to carry ay record sheet, said card beingprovided with a plurality of sets of feed control indicia, a pluralityof sensing devices for detecting the passage of said indicia as saidcard is moved by the feeding devices, and means under control of saidsensing devices for controlling starting and stopping operation of saidfeeding devices to position said card and sheet so that the printingimpressions are spaced in a predetermined arrangement on said sheet.

7. In a machine for printing on record sheets, each sheet made up of apair of connected forms, devices for controlling a long feedingoperation to insert a sheet and feed it from form to form, a backingmember adapted to carry a sheet, said member being provided with feedcontrol indicia, means for sensing said indicia, and means under controlof said sensing means for stopping said long feeding operation toposition said member and associated sheet to receive printing at desiredlines on both forms.

8. In a machine for printing on ledger record sheets, a backing cardadapted to carry a sheet, said card being formed with feed controlnotches, means for feeding said card and sheet, a lever resting on saidcard in the path of said notches, and means under control of said leverfor controlling said feeding means to position said card and sheet sothat the printing of impressions are received on the sheet in apredetermined arrangement.

9. In a machine for printing on ledger record sheets, including linespace devices and long feed mechanism operable to feed a 'sheet furtherthan a line space, a backing member adapted to carry a sheet, saidmember being cut with a feed control notch, a detecting membercooperating with said member to sense -said notch, means for initiatingoperation of said long feed mechanism, and means under control of saiddetecting member for stopping operation of said long feed mchanism sothat said sheet is positioned to receive printing impressions.

10. In amachine with devices for printing and feeding ledger recordsheets, a backing card adapted to carry a sheet, said card being formedwith two feed control notches, one at the leading end to control thepositioning of the sheet in an initial position and the other at anintermediate point on said card to control the positioning of the sheetatan intermediate position, means for sensing said notches, and meansunder control of said sensing means for controlling the operation of thefeeding devices to hold the card and sheet in predetermined printreceiving positions.

11. In a machine for printing items on record sheets including linespacing and long feeding mechanism, a backing member adapted to carry asheet, said member having a feed control notch at the leading end and asecond deeper feed control notch at an intermediate point, a sensinglever resting on said member in the path of both notches, a secondsensing lever resting on said member in the path of the deeper part ofthe second notch, means under control of said rst mentioned lei/Ter forinterrupting operation of the long feedmg mechanism when the leadingnotch is sensed to place the sheet in an initial print receivingposition, means for initiating operation of the long feed after itemprinting, and means under control of both sensing levers forinterrupting operation of the long feedingmechanismwhen the second notchis sensed to place the sheet in an intermediate print receivingposition.

